


The Marriage Rock

by duplicity, Minryll



Series: Cursed Crew Collabs [3]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Art, Childhood Friends, Childhood Sweethearts, Fluff, Hufflepuff Harry Potter, Hufflepuff Tom Riddle, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Romance, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, the softest boys on the planet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-19
Updated: 2020-05-19
Packaged: 2021-03-02 18:34:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,128
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24241405
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/duplicity/pseuds/duplicity, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Minryll/pseuds/Minryll
Summary: The first time Tom proposes to Harry, they're seven years old.Translation in Portuguese available!
Relationships: Harry Potter/Tom Riddle | Voldemort
Series: Cursed Crew Collabs [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1833868
Comments: 70
Kudos: 698





	1. The Marriage Rock

**Author's Note:**

> an incredible translation by [DanyeleSummers](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DanyeleSummers/pseuds/DanyeleSummers) into Portuguese is available [HERE on Wattpad](https://www.wattpad.com/story/231582970-the-marriage-rock-tradu%C3%A7%C3%A3o)!!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> written for the lovely comic and universe created by Minryll! an excuse for some very soft baby boys.

Harry was laid out on the grass when Tom approached him. The grass had yet to be trimmed, and so a good deal of Harry’s body was obscured by the tall greens and weeds. Harry was wearing one of his oversized jumpers, one where the sleeves hung well past his wrists.

The weather was nice today, and Tom had only glared at two other orphans on his way outside.

As Tom drew closer, Harry sat up. There were a few strands of grass stuck to his unruly locks.

“Hi, Tom!” said Harry, beaming.

Tom smiled back. Harry was always glad to see him, and Tom wanted to keep things that way forever and ever.

“Hello,” said Tom. He waited for Harry to scramble to his feet. They both ought to be standing for this. Tom was about to ask something very important. He had planned his question carefully, keeping in mind the manners that Mrs. Cole had tried to impart upon them.

“Harry,” said Tom, holding out his hand for Harry to take. “May I have your hand in marriage?”

“Ah,” said Harry. His clasped hands rose to chest level in a nervous gesture, the fingers sliding together, back and forth.

They stood there, staring at each other. Harry’s eyes were very bright and green in the summer sun. Much prettier than the grass. Tom would never need to go outside again if he had Harry with him.

“Give me a minute,” Harry said. Then he swung around and walked off.

Tom could only stand there, frozen, feeling like a complete fool. Harry had just rejected him. Harry said he was going to come back, only he wouldn’t, and Tom would just have to stand here all day, waiting, just in case. Because if Harry _did_ come back, then it wouldn’t matter how long it had taken so long as Harry had decided to choose him.

After about a minute or so of pure agony, Harry returned.

Tom grinned widely, happy that Harry had come to his senses. Harry was smiling, too, albeit shyly, and he had something hidden away in his hand that was shadowed by his long jumper sleeve. 

A gift? Tom held out his hand again to accept whatever it was.

Harry dropped a smooth, round egg into his palm. Tom’s face scrunched in confusion as he lifted his present up to eye level. No, it was not an egg. It was a rock _shaped_ like an egg. Grey and speckled, sure, but it was still just a rock.

Tom looked back up at Harry.

Harry was nibbling on his lower lip, cheeks pink as he fidgeted with the cuffs of his jumper sleeves.

“Thank you,” Tom said. “Is… is this a yes?”

Harry nodded.

“Good,” Tom said, chest swelling full of pride. “I will keep this with me forever.” He tucked the rock away into his pocket, then offered his hand to Harry for the third time.

Harry eagerly came forward to hold it. Tom slid their fingers together and led them both back inside. Best day ever.

* * *

**_Ten Years Later_ ** ****

* * *

Tom had his left hand stuffed into the pocket of his robes. The familiar weight of Harry’s rock rested there, slotted perfectly against the contour of his palm and fingers. Tom knew what every curve felt like, had memorized the feel of the stone’s texture against each of his fingertips.

The rock Tom had carried dutifully for ten years was a cornerstone of his entire existence, a piece of comfort that was always available to him. An anchor that reminded him there would always be someone in the world who was glad to see him.

Today was their last day at Hogwarts. 

The final farewell to another, different anchor of Tom’s childhood.

With one last glance at the mirror, Tom left their dorm room for the last time.

Harry, of course, was in the common room waiting for him. 

When their eyes caught, Harry’s face broke out into a brilliant smile that warmed Tom’s heart right up, reassuring him that he had made the correct choice, that he did not require the splendour and extravagance of their fellow classmates for what he was about to ask.

“Hi, Tom,” said Harry. His glasses were sitting crookedly on his face, but his green eyes were as beautiful and vibrant as ever.

Tom stepped forward, reaching to straighten the frames and smooth a hand down the front of Harry’s robes, tracing a finger over the Hufflepuff badge.

“Hello,” Tom said fondly. At this distance, he could see every little detail that made up Harry’s face: the flutter of lashes, the half-formed dimples, the blush-warmed cheeks.

Harry’s hands lifted to clutch at Tom’s elbows. “Are you ready to go?”

Tom withdrew with some reluctance and slipped his hand back into his robes. Harry’s head quirked to the side, now curious.

“Not quite,” said Tom. 

There had been no need to practice the words he was about to say; these words had been set ever since they’d both been seven years old and best friends at Wool’s Orphanage. 

Tom held out his hand, palm up, the rock resting upon it. “Marry me, Harry. You promised.”

Harry’s eyes flew wide, his lips parting soundlessly. Tom could hear nothing save for Harry’s sudden intake of breath, so loud that it felt like a jolt of electricity straight to his heart.

“Yes,” Harry blurted out. “Yes.” He wobbled a half-step forward, and then he was seizing Tom’s lapels like a lifeline and mashing their mouths together in a kiss.

Tom was still holding the rock, but he wrapped his arms around Harry, clutching him close.

The kiss ended, and Harry nuzzled his damp cheek against Tom’s face for a brief second before he pulled back, reaching for the rock in Tom’s hand. 

Then Harry lifted the rock and hand both up to his face and gave Tom’s hand a kiss as he mumbled, “I can't believe you kept it this long.”

“I’m keeping you with me forever,” Tom told him. Harry would be his for a lifetime, for eternity. That was the way the world needed to be, with the two of them together.

Harry took the rock and put it into his pocket. Then he offered Tom his hand.

Tom took it. Harry’s hand fit perfectly against his own, more familiar than the curves of the rock, the skin softer than the firmness of the stone. More alive. More real.

The rock was just a symbol. His real anchor, the person whose very existence tethered Tom to this world, was Harry.

Whenever Tom needed a reminder of what love really was, of what it meant to share your life with someone, Harry would always, always be here to show him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for reading the squishy fluffiness that are these two adorable boys.
> 
> click onwards to chapter 2 for the incredible fanart that inspired this story!
> 
> find me & my writing updates on tumblr [here](https://duplicitywrites.tumblr.com)!


	2. The Marriage Rock

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comic by [Minryll](https://minryll.tumblr.com/tagged/my-hand-slipped)

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**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorting Hat: You are quite loyal, even if it is only to one person. 
> 
> Tom: Put me in Hufflepuff with Harry or so help me God, I will tear you to shreds and torch your remains-
> 
> Sorting Hat: A Gryffindor for sure...
> 
> Tom: -ead to me. You are DEAD DEAD DEAD DEAD-
> 
> Sorting Hat: Might as well be HUFFLEPUFF!!


End file.
